Chapter 23 Squirtle's Scald

A rippling boom raced across the sky, Ash's Pidgeot dancing in the air over the Kanto Bay.

The friends watched from the cruise ship. Ash smiled on noticing all the tourists paying a great deal of attention to her.

"Hey, Ash!" Gary's voice came. "Nice to see you taking a break from being a trainer."

"Actually, this is me getting back into the swing of things." Ash replied. "Cinnabar does actually have a Gym still."

"Really? Huh. News to me. I thought it had shut down because of having too many tourists battling there." Gary muttered, glancing at the horizon.

"And their job is? That's pretty negligent, but then a lot of the Kanto gyms seem to be doing that lately."

"Tell me about it. I had to head to Chubu for some of my badges – you know, east of Pallet town and a bit north? The area of Victory Road has a few towns with gyms."

Ash nodded. "So that's where you got those ones I didn't recognize."

"Some of them. The others are Sevii islands – and Lavender town."

"Neat. How's the research going?"

Gary held out a notebook and flipped through it. "Current project is about what Pokémon live only in industrial environments, and where they came from before we developed like we have. Apparently Cinnabar Labs are ruined and quickly being colonized."

Ash glanced around for a second. "If you find any evidence related to Pokémon cloning, then keep it firmly under wraps. That's big and important stuff, and I can't remember whether it was here or somewhere else they were researching that."

Understood. I'll update Dexter next time we're in range for whisker laser or something similarly private.

Ash blinked. "Oh, I see Dee has undergone second stage development."

"Yeah, started about two weeks ago. Lots more colloquialisms now. Fascinating to watch, actually."

"You scientists…" Ash shook his head with a grin.

At that point, a glimmer of light in the sky caught both their eyes, and they turned to look.

"Oh, wow!"

Pidgeot had slowed down through the Sound Barrier, and seemed to be running the energy buildup stage of Sky Attack. The resultant corona was being whipped by the wind into a huge tail of bright yellow flame a hundred feet long.

As she shot overhead with a sound like a jet aircraft, Gary shouted to Ash. "Did your crazy bird just invent dump-and-burn for Pokémon?"

"Looks like it!" Ash called back, grinning. "Man, but I look forward to the contest circuit in a couple of years!"

Pikachu noticed something. "Er, Ash… I think she's building up to a finale."

High above the ship, Pidgeot flared her shroud of fire and dropped it into the centre of a huge Windstorm, producing a disc of ethereal fire several hundred feet across. Then she flew up at just subsonic speed to about twice the height of the disc, before reproducing her original effect and blasting through the centre of the windstorm with a strobing concussion as she rode the sound barrier itself.

The whole cloud detonated into a series of rippling concentric rings spreading across half the sky.

Ash grinned as the ship burst into applause, watching Pidgeot glide down to the level of the deck and alight on the rail. "Nice work, girl!"

She began preening, enjoying the attention. Gary shook his head wryly. "Now that is style. Wasn't she..?"

"Yeah, she protected the local Pidgey. From your Fearow, actually, strange how things work out."

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the entrance to Cinnabar Gym is?"

The man shook his head. "Cinnabar Gym's closed. Has been for years."

Ash frowned. "Really? Because some friends of mine got a badge from there not more than six or seven months ago. Of course, since they teleport everywhere they have no clue where the door is, but…"

"Oh. Them." The local sighed. "Don't suppose they said anything else?"

Ash snapped his fingers. "That was it! It's in the volcano!"

"Damn." Blaine removed his disguise, such as it was. "So much for riddles."

"Sorry. But if it's not too much trouble, could we have the fight in the volcanic bowl instead? I have a wildly overenthusiastic Squirtle."

Blaine shuddered. "No argument here. Meet me up there tomorrow morning. Do you have Flying types to get up there, because if not I can offer you a room in the gym itself."

"No, that's fine. Actually, my Pidgeot was the one showing off earlier today."

"Of course." Blaine sighed. "No matter what I do, instead of treating the volcano like the… well, enormous mountain with a penchant to explode that it is, most people seem to end up in Cinnabar for tourism."

"My friend Gary's here for research, though I can't say the same of his paradoxical cheerleaders."

"That at least is something." The man sighed again, and handed Ash a sheet of paper. "Mind having a go?"

Ash looked it over – it was a long list of riddles. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do. Some of my Pokémon will probably like the challenge."

"Thirty white horses on a red hill…"

Pikachu frowned. "Teeth? There's always one that answers as teeth."

"Yeah, could be. Thirty, though?"

"Best guess we have now."

"Sure." Ash pencilled it in. "When you take away the whole from it, some still remains. Hmm, not sure."

Riolu looked at the paper for a second. "Is 'whole-some' a word?"

"Hey, yeah! Nice work."

Misty pulled a pillow over her head. Why can't Ash just get himself to bed already? Damn him and his attitude to anything that even looks like a challenge.

"I am impressed and gratified. You managed to get eighty-three of the riddles." He glanced at Ash, who had bags under his eyes. "And now that I said that, I realize I may have overdone it on how many I wrote."

Ash shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and grinned. "I'll be fine! Let's get to it!"

"Very well. The unique stage of a challenge against the Cinnabar gym is a test of fire power. Do you wish to hold this first or last?"

"Let's go with first. Charizard!"

Blaine raised an eyebrow over his glasses. "Magmar!"

Ash raised a hand in question. "Blaine, is Magmar immune to fire attacks?"

He nodded. "Magmar lives in, well, magma."

"Charizard, you have full release authority on Blast Burn."

"Wait, he knows-!"

A thunderous BANG sounded, and Magmar went flying clear out of the crater.

Charizard snorted. "That do?"

"Nice… work, Charizzzzz-"

Misty stepped forward quickly to catch Ash as he nodded forward. "Sorry about this, Cinnabar leader."

I'll wake him. Dexter began playing a piece of recorded music.

Brock, Misty and about half of Ash's Pokémon turned at the simple notes of an ocarina.

"That sounds like… Lugia's song?" Pikachu asked.

Yes. Worth a try.

Ash shook his head and opened his eyes again. "Whoo, sorry guys, I was feeling a bit tired there. I'm fine now."

Misty looked at him sceptically. "Really?"

"Really. That song's like aural coffee for me. Probably my link with Lugia." Ash bounced on his feet, full of energy again. "So, what's next?"

Blaine sent out his Rhydon.

Ash replied with Pikachu. "Go for the horn!"

Pikachu shot a look at his trainer, ran forward and delivered a Force Palm hard enough to send the Rhydon flying itself.

"Fine then, don't go for the horn." Ash sulked.

"I have no idea why it worked last time, but it wasn't supposed to." Pikachu pulled his feet out of the small crater they'd been left in from the 'recoil'.

Blaine tsked. "Ninetales!" The fox Pokémon's eyes began to glow red with Foresight.

Ash thought for a second. "Squirtle!"

Squirtle came out of his Poké ball with one hand drawn back. "The burning heat of this volcano only produces a challenge for me to overcome!" Water formed on his hand, bubbling and steaming for a second before becoming perfectly clear and still. "I will use my fiery spirit to match and exceed it! Scald!"

He tossed forward the bubble of water, which Ninetales dodged with a simple jump – and was startled when the bottom of the sphere promptly exploded in steam, flinging it up and into him.

"How the hell did you do that!" he yelped. "That's not possible, it breaks all the laws of probability that superheated water boils where you want it!"

Squirtle threw another water globe, grinning cockily. "Theoretical calculations mean nothing to me! I'm the great Squirtle of the Squirtle Squad!" The second globe used two eruptions of steam to steer itself into the path of Ninetales, who was knocked backwards by the blast.

"All right… enough playing around." Ninetales blurred, and vanished into a Faint Attack.

Squirtle looked around himself warily, bringing up more water. "My enemy is somewhere, but I don't know where… so the only answer is to attack everywhere at once!" Thrusting out with both hands, he sent a violent wave of boiling water out in a globe – which impacted on the invisible Ninetales sneaking in for an attack with an Energy Ball.

Now that he had his opponent's location again from the depressions left in the puddle across the gym floor and from the flow of the steam, Squirtle followed up with a Hydro Cannon and sent him flying back into the wall.

Blaine held up his hand to cease the action, then returned his Ninetales and sent out a Rapidash.

Ash smiled slightly. "Nostalgic… is that Rapidash a Laramie Ranch breed? I recognize the horn shape."

Blaine nodded. "I train only the best. And if I recall, you're a clan member of theirs now. The race was very impressive."

Ash rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "Well, I tried. But anyway. Kingler!"

Dexter made a humming sound for a second. Accessed.

Blaine frowned. "Er, what?"

Ash caught the Poké ball as it materialized. "Sorry, I forgot to alert Professor Oak until a few minutes ago."

Rapidash leapt into the air with a Bounce as Kingler emerged, hoping to dodge any first attack the Water type made.

Kingler replied by using the free time before his opponent landed to generate even more water using Surf, then hid beneath it as Rapidash came back down.

The diamond-hard hooves impacted hard, but the water cushion was the saving grace – no real damage was done, and Rapidash retreated through the water as Kingler's pincers attempted to get a Vicegrip.

Blaine shook his head. "Oh, the downside of being a Gym Leader… vulnerability to a number of types. In my case, water especially."

Kingler's claws snapped shut with a strange crackling sound, and the water about ten feet in front of him erupted in a plume that nearly cleared the crater lip.

Oh, so that's what Crabhammer looks like underwater. Supercavitation?

Rapidash began thrashing his way through the deep water to dodge more and more watery eruptions, Kingler firing further and further, and more and more accurately, as he got used to the method of fighting.

One erupted fifteen feet in front of Rapidash, who dodged back and tried to move away – only to see another plume form the same distance behind him.

Brock nodded to himself. "He's bracketed now, it's over."

A final eruption of water shot upwards, carrying Blaine's last Pokémon with it, and he returned the Rapidash before the Pokémon hit the floor.

"Congratulations. You certainly understand both the use of great power and the ways it has to be controlled. You have earned the Volcanobadge."

Ash grinned on accepting the badge. "Only one left… and still a few months to go before the League."

Blaine nodded. "Yes, though there's been some interesting challengers for me this year. One of them had a talking Meow-"

"We know them." Every one of the friends chorused.

"What was their challenge like?" Ash added.

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Lots of collateral damage. One of their battles nearly melted the Quartz screens in one of the underground chambers. That said, I apparently got off fairly lightly."

Ash shrugged. "I feel for you. Well, see you around!"

He turned to go, and abruptly collapsed. Riolu and Pikachu caught him before he hit the floor.

Wow, ten minutes exactly before it wore off. Come on, everyone, we'd better get him to a bed.

"Good morning, Ash!" Misty said chirpily. Ash groaned and tried to roll over back into bed.

"Oh, no, you don't! It's all your fault you're so tired, the least you can do is accept it. Come one, we have to visit the island of the Turtle Pokémon."

Ash stuck his head out from under the covers. "Why? Jigglypuff's happily in a band by now. We saw them on the news, sweeping Saffron city as a sensation."

Misty nodded. "True. But on the other hand, I'm a water trainer and I want to know more about the societies of Water Pokémon – especially since the only Squirtle I've interacted for long periods of time… apparently isn't normal."

"Yeah, sure." Ash reached for Dexter on his bedside. "Better keep up Lugia's song all today. I'll need it."

I suggest headphones. Dexter began the lilting notes nevertheless, and Misty left to get herself breakfasted.

Misty twitched in place. This cannot be happening…

"So!" Ash's Squirtle said, looking at the rest of his evolutionary chain in front of him.

All of them were wearing metal headbands inscribed with a turtle shell.

"This is the hidden village of the turtle?"

"They're all anime freaks… every last one of them…" Misty muttered to herself, clutching her head. "And I thought Ash had an unusual one…"

"Oh, hello, Misty!" Daisy called. "We've got a plan for a new type of show to draw in crowds, because we've been-"

Misty passed over a script. "If we're going to do a show involving me, we do this one."

Daisy blinked, and read the script more or less for something to do. "Er, Misty? Half of this is impossible, I don't know if that move would even work the right way, and we'd need five more cast members."

Misty shrugged. "I can get the cast members easily. And as for the rest – Ash, get Pidgeot and head to Saffron to recruit Jigglypuff, would you?"

Ash nodded. "Right!"

"Oh, and leave Dexter. I'll need him for the rest of the plans."

I think that's everything with the stereo system set up. And I can do the narration as well, if you want.

"Yeah, probably for the best. Everyone else is tied up in the action sequences." Misty muttered to herself. "Psyduck, how are you up on making sure none of those attacks quite hit?"

I can do the above water stuff and most of the underwater, so long as they don't put much actual power into them anyway. Starmie could help a lot, though, so assign it as well. Electric attacks are a bit more tricky.

"And they're the ones that look most impressive anyway. Right, we'll just have to have Cubone or Pikachu present at all times to draw the attacks in."

Brock came back in with his script. "It's pretty good, but I don't get the girl."

"None of us 'get' anyone, Brock, we're not old enough. And I don't, I really don't, want you to start obsessing over my sisters."

"But I thought the whole point of the story was-"

"It's platonic. And a metaphor for all emotions. Besides, the original version is set in space."

"Dat's right, it's all a matter of formin' the right sounds wid yer mouth. Took me quite a while ta learn everythin', an I still have a bit of an accent, but all ya gotta learn is a specific sequence. So it should take less time."

Jigglupuff nodded. "Pity I can't learn that Aura trick that translates things, it'd be a lot easier."

"Not wid da need for ya microphone. The speakers'd just play an unaltered voice."

The crowd watched raptly as Dexter's narration explained the events unfolding in front of them. A story of an underwater land, one where the peace was disrupted by the attack of a band of unfeeling mercenaries from the surface (Team rocket, of course), and the band of heroes (guess who) who descended into the depths to fight them off and protect the innocent. The battle lasted for at least half an hour in the show, until finally one of the mermaids (Misty, naturally, had picked herself for this role) realized the truth, and enlisted the aid of a recent arrival to their court.

Jigglypuff stole the show. Thanks to Meowth's tuition, she was able to manage the musical number – to Dexter's backing – that went with the story.

Do You Remember Love.

Squirtle had watched it at some point in the future because of the giant robots, and casually mentioned it to the rest of the group a month or two ago. On getting more information, Misty had seen the potential and found it to watch herself.

The story did have to be altered somewhat, but it worked and the crowd loved it.

"You don't think that was… overdoing it, perhaps?" Daisy asked, the next morning.

Misty shrugged. "Jigglypuff enjoyed it, and Togekiss tells me the entire cast and audience did as well."

Half a dozen Clefairy looked up, caught stealing random things from a convenience store.

"Okay, why are you lot really here?" Ash asked, exasperated.

The Clefairy looked between themselves, then one came forward. "Sorry, Cresselia asked us to check in on you, Chosen. We thought this was the best way, but Rayquaza blew part of the ship off on the way down because he mistook it for a meteorite."

"And this is what comes of poor coordination." Ash sighed. "Why not head down to Hoenn? There's a space centre there."

The Fairy Pokémon looked abashed. "That… would have been a good idea, yes. We've been here for months."

"Well, now you know. And I think that Steven Stone lives on the island – Mossdeep – so you could ask him for help when you arrive in Hoenn."

Bink

And here we are at the Rocket base, Abra 'pathed casually over the thuds of Jessie and James hitting the ground head first. Hm, that's odd. It's not usually on fire.

James bounced upright with the ease of long practice. "Wait, what? Fire? Where?"

Abra pointed. There. And there. Spreading from the hole in the roof. And it looks like most of the superstructure's badly damaged as well.

Jessie, James and Meowth pelted into the Rocket command centre. "Boss! You okay?"

Giovanni picked himself out of the wreckage of the central chamber. "Yes, thank you. I'm tougher than I look." He turned to the Rocket cell. "Send an alert to all points – be ready for potential Legendary-class retaliation attacks. And leak information to that Ash Ketchum of yours in some way that a Legendary with a grudge against humanity has gone rogue. Psychic type, if it matters." Giovanni refocused. "Right. May I borrow the use of your Abra to get to the Saffron command centre? It's going to be a nightmare keeping a lid on this one. Handle the Viridian Gym while I'm gone."

The three saluted. "Sir!"

AN: Squirtle's Scald variant is very Gurren Lagann.

Dump and Burn, if you're not familiar with it, is the practice of using the Afterburners on a slow moving jet aircraft at a display. The result is a big tail of flame from the burning fuel.

Sorry for the Macross thing, by the way. But I had the idea, and it refused to go away.